Worth
by Quills1
Summary: Is anyone really worth all of it? Takes place after ATY...S/V friendship/romance


Worth

By: Quills

Takes place after Almost Thirty Years.

She walked into the room after her confrontation with her missing link that had been gone for almost thirty years. 

He sat against the door, in the room filled once with water a that now sunk to the bent knees of this battered broken form. Although the water was drained only minutes after it had first captured him, he had already taken breaths of it. Thick with oxygen, his lungs did not immediately give out, but rather his the emotions that fought for the surface with him defeated his consciousness quickly. 

He looked up at her, knowing that she was the reason that he was here. The reason all this had happened in the past year up to right now. 

She laughed.

He blinked his eyes, and realized just how much she looked like Sydney. Her eyes, her mouth, even the expression her face showed right then. Although Sydney would use this face only to deceive her emotions, this woman used it to deceive his.

"You're a fighter, Mr. Vaughn; I'll give you that."

Her voice was nothing like Sydney's, she would not deceive him there.

"When you believe that you were taking your last breath, were you thinking of her? Thoughts of anger that she brought you here, that she stood there while you were drowning and watched? Or thoughts of caring and compassion for the woman that you've leered over with no release for how long is it now?"

Darkened green eyes stared up at the figure that had accused their owner.

Mockingly she placed a hand of false comfort on his face. 

"You'll be glad to know she's alright, but when I told her you were dead not even a flicker of...interest was shown."

Withered lips parted with defense crawling towards them lost their race.

Hand removed. Violent. 

"But, of course, I don't want to lie to my daughter so, you soon will be dead. Though, in a few minutes, it will not be as soon as you will wish."

Footsteps, steel doors creaking, guards exchanging words, door closed eyes open.

He looked around no sign of...anything.

Walls, doors, and a chair. Metal, with restraints. Although not looking forward for what was to come he picked himself up to examine more of his prison and more of the damage to himself that he would be able to work with.

Doors, his head turned quickly, too quickly, and his vision was blurred, falling, back on the floor. Black. 

Awake. Shadowy vision. 

She was with two men. As they walked closer to the chair as she began to approach him.

"She's left you know, gone, saved her own skin. I'll have her back if her death suits my plans. Unfortunately for you, your life is already been forfeit to that same plan."

Guns, blurred vision, the door was left open for more, two men down, she was worried, fought her way out, as her daughter fought her way in.

"Vaughn?!, Vaughn can you hear me?!"

Her hands on either side of his face to force him to look at her

"Vaughn?!"

He looked at her knowing; believing that she was only they're for her mission. She came back so that her record wouldn't show that she lost a partner. But he needed to think something more as she held him to look at her. Green eyes to brown eyes, Hope for caring to hope for escape, Partner to partner.

He wanted to scream. 

"Sydney!!!!" 

A man yelled as a bullet just barely grazed her arm. 

She stood quickly trying to bring him with her. 

"We'll check the front and meet you there when the coast is clear."

She nodded to the two men. 

"Vaughn, come on, we're gonna get you out of here ok? Come on, here, lean on me, come on."

As those worried words poured from her mouth all he could think of was what he was told; that he was just business, that she would never even have given him a second thought if it weren't for the mission.

She kneeled in front of him again.

"Vaughn, come on, are you hurt, lemme see."

Her hands skimmed over his body looking for wounds. Only on his face were remnants of punches and kicks from attempts to bring a prisoner back to consciousness.

"Don't..." he draggedoff.

Puzzled, she stared at him trying to find his motives.

"Why are you here, risking your life? Any seconds both of us could be dead and yet you don't seem to realize that."

He sighed in a way that showed that he was pained and exhausted just by speaking. Moving his head from side to side. Trying to shake words out. He looked at her.

"You never realize those things; you don't understand how important you are and just risk yourself for anything...or anyone."

Vaughn, let's just get..."

His eyes cut her off as his mouth began to explain.

"This isn't worth it Sydney. All I am is a handler, all I do id give out missions, there's plenty of men who could fill my shoes, but not one that I know of that could fill yours so go...go! I'll hold you back just leave."

"The coast is clear; you better get out here."

Rushed by this new news Sydney hurriedly took his hand.

"You're coming with me."

He didn't move.

"Go..."

She didn't move.

"Go. Go!!!"

His voice seemed to signal gunshots through the air just a little ways down the hall.

"Sydney! We gotta get out of here! Just get him and let's go!"

One of them had returned. She stood, grabbed the gun that he wielded and used it the only way that she thought she could.

Pain. Black.

"Help me get him on his feet." she pleaded.

The man disobeyed and hoisted the unconscious form unto his back.

"I'll get him out and you cover my passage."

Nodding, she readied herself for their exit.

Running. Chasing. Fighting. Freedom.

The van was already started up by the time that the escape was moved far enough to see that it was light out.

As they left they're pursuers behind Sydney grew more and more concerned about how hard she had actually knocked him out.

CIA safe house:

The two men that had aided the rescue had already left the safe house for another mission involving reuniting with their families. It turned out that they were also being held for informational purposes, and had escaped. 

Sydney knew that it was too easy and that nothing was over and no one was safe, but all that hadn't mattered yet. Still waiting to be realized in the back of her mind that couldn't help worrying about him.

He couldn't have meant everything that he said to her about his worth and her worth and...and everything that he said seem to be lies planted by some else, but that still was waiting to be realized too as something much more important had happened.

His body stirred was he began to wake up. 

Room. Bed. Pain. Her.

"Syd...Sydney?" he muttered as he tried to move himself higher up to her equal. 

Sitting at the end of the bed, she firmly moved him back to lay down.

"Just stay down there for awhile ok? Your hurt and I don't know what else happened to you so just..."

"No, no, I'm ok."

"Looks like." She stated dryly, referring to the large wound on his head that she had inflicted. 

"I can't imagine where that came from." Half joking, half...

"Vaughn we need to get you to a hospital, can you walk?"

"I dunno." he seemed embarrassed to be in such a position that he couldn't just walk out the door.

"You shouldn't have brought me here."

"We're in a safe house, we'll be fine here for awhile."

"You know it's the truth, what I said earlier. How you'd be worth it all and no one else compares. But the only way it can stay the truth is if you stick to what you have to do, your missions...You shouldn't have come back for me.

"It was my decision. " 

"It was the wrong one to make, what if next time you do get yourself killed. Don't think I don't know what I'm talking about because yes, I know that your job gets you up in the morning, anyone could realize that, but you don't seem to see that to the big picture you're too important to risk it for something that you may THINK is more important at the time."

"What's this about? I thought I...knew I was doing the right thing. I need you to do my job, and if you say that that's what makes me important than I need you there with me."

"This isn't about me."

"You say that I should realize that I could have been killed and the mission would have been forfeit and I would have ruined too much to be replace. You seem so mad that it worked out, that I cared enough to go back for you and everything is worked fine. That the precious mission wasn't lost because of my decisions. 

"You're not supposed to care!!!"

Eyes open. Mouths shut. Tears coming. Hope fleeing. 

False remedies. Anger. Rage. Violence. Drugs.

"Just get away from me."

The words dripped from his mouth, more harshly put than needed.

Venom.

"Listen, Vaughn, we have to..."

"I don't HAVE to do anything. Or are you gonna knock me around again, rough me up a bit? You think you could take me don't you? I'd love to see you try, come on make me, let's see this."

Her eyes looked as though they were glazed with confusion, but feared grew beneath them. 

Slowly, she began to rise from her place at the foot of the bed.

"Don't give into this, this isn't you, you don't want to do this."

"Don't I?"

He began to creep towards her. Knowing she wouldn't move. Not wanting her to move, for the lies he was being fed whispered ideas that he would not be able to forgive.

Sitting beneath her form that stood tall for it's presentation, but inside anticipated the worst. 

His eyes. Lost. Dangerous. Leering.

She knew that she couldn't be seeing him looking at her that way. 

He stood in the small space that was left between them.

"You wanna do this? You wanna tell me it's the drugs? Tell me it's not ok? Tell me this is wrong that it's just you and it's just me not enemies not friends not anything, right?" Hands on her waist. She stirred trying to remove them, trying to deprive any future selves of terrible memories.

"You wanna feel it though...you wanna taste it..." Advancing even closer to steadfast eyes and quivering mouth , "...you know you..." trailing off his eyes rolled to the back you his head as he began to fall.

The tears that clouded her vision didn't allow her to react fast enough.

He snapped his head back as only part of his body hit contact with the bed as he finally gave out.

With her hands over her face she breathed in a breathe to try calm herself, that only succeeded in signaling her tears to spread. 

Los Angeles:

Her day was long.

After her flight back to the states. His departure to a CIA hospital. Explanations to Sloane and Dixon. Reuniting with her despairing father. Discussing her mother with him. Trying to figure out a plan to find her. Trying to figure out a plan to keep her from finding them. She lay in bed.

Francie was easy enough to lie to about her job and her absence, but Will never would be again. 

Though she wanted to be by his side and talk him through everything that she had kept from him. Though her father had insisted that she let the CIA handle Will a little while longer as he was informed of his lies to tell.

The phone rings.

"Hello?"

"I just got word from the hospital where Mr. Vaughn has been placed. They contacted me and asked me to inform who ever needed to be informed that, he's woken up."

"Thank you Dad."

"Sydney, I don't know if you should go down there right away." he responded to the sound of her movements.

"Why?"

"They ran some tests on him and they found that he was drugged nearly out of his mind. They don't know how much of what yet, but you and I both know that withdraw from that amount of substance makes someone...he just may not want you to see him that way."

"You sound like some sort of expert on this."

"Sydney..."

"I'll call you when I get back. Keep and eye on Will for me," before hanging up she added, "please."

"Two eyes."

Silence. Phone tossed aside. Clothes on. Car keys.

Hospital:

She walked into a room with a man breathing and sweating heavily and a white sheeted hospital bed. He was in pain. Eyes closed. Eyes open.

"Hey," his voice cracked as it spoke.

"Hey...do you remember what happened?"

He looked at her knowing that she wanted to forget as much as he did. Any trust that had been between them had come close to the breaking point.

"No...I umm...just that I'm here now that obviously the circumference had been destroyed."

Her face turned away for a second then came back to speak. 

"I brought you this," she handed him a bag that had the undeniable scent of fast food clinging to it. "I know it's not much better than the hospital food, but if I were where you are right now I'd want someone to do it for me too." she smiled. 

It was almost normal between them now.

"Thanks."

"My Dad he's umm been getting a lot of people involved making sure that we find out what my the next move is in all this. It just seems to be part of her plan right now I mean, she let me escape it was all for show. We don't know why yet, but for right now we're safe."

A smirk found it's way to his face and no one even needed to state the obvious.

"Let's not even think about that right now ok?" Distracting herself. "How are you feeling?"

"Sydney, there's no excuse for the actions that I carried out earlier." Her eyes jolted to his as he continued. "I would be able to understand if you want to be a signed a new handler. If I just make a few phone calls you could..."

"No, I...I thought you didn't remember..."

"That would have been the easy way out, but I do and you do and I'll understand if...."

"It's ok."

"No, it's not I almost, you shouldn't have had to deal with me, the way I was acting, but..."

"Vaughn, I forgive you, forgave you even while everything was happening. I just...I knew it wasn't you, you're not to blame here...no one is except the woman that I need your help to find and deal with." 

"Are you in?" No confidence in her words, almost a prayer to forget. 

"Yea." almost unable to hear his last words she leaned in closer.

"We never would have gotten this far alone, if we're ever going to finish what we started than _we_ need to..."

"Excuse me...sorry to interrupt, but it's time for another of Mr. Vaughn's shots."

Turning around to leave Sydney signaled to the bag resting on the side of the bed.

He smiled and nodding.

Against the system they smiled. At each other. Any the situation. About the way they had to keep everything wedged between protcol and regulations.

These moments we they shared to rebellion were...in a word....worth it.

She walked out ready to face the world again as he lay there facing it and thinking of her.


End file.
